Bressani, Francesco Giuseppe

Bressani, Francesco Giuseppe an Italian missionary, was born at Rome in 1612. He entered the Society of Jesus at the age of fifteen, went to Canada in 1644, and was on his way to the Huroi Indians, when (April 1644) he fell into the hands of the Mohawks, who subjected him to mutilations and torments, and after four months' suffering sold him to the Dutch at Fort Orange. The latter treated him kindly, and sent him to France. Bressani returned to Canada in July, 1645, and labored for five years among the Hurons, that is, until the extinction of the Huron mission. In 1650 he was recalled to Italy, and devoted many years to establishing missions. He died in Florence, September 9, 1672. Bressani wrote a history of his mission (Macerata, 1653; a French translation, with biography and notes, was published in Montreal, 1852). See De Courcy and Shea, Hist. of the Cath. Church in the United States, pages 311, 312; Shea, Cath. Missions, pages 193-212; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.